A BAJA CALIFORNIA SUR ODYESSY of life in the small fishing town of Santa Rosalia and travels throughout Mexico and elsewhere

March 10, 2010

Dog Friendly Lodging in Southern Baja

It has been quite a challenge taking our dogs with us on vacation in Baja if we want to stay at a nicer hotel. We are pretty knowledgeable about where to stay going north from here, but going south has not been something we have done much with our dogs. Looking up dog friendly lodging can be difficult even in the U.S. if you are staying in a small town; in Baja there is much less choice and not all places seem to get listed.

Here in Santa Rosalia the Hotel Frances and Hotel Las Casitas will let you have your dogs in the room. Hotel Frances is an 1886 2-story wooden building, an elegant historic relic from the days when the French were mining here. The lobby and dining room are filled with antique furniture and they serve a wonderful breakfast, but not any other meals. Las Casitas, perched at the cliff’s edge doesn’t have meals, but they make up for that with an incredible view and nice modern rooms. Advancing south to Mulege we always treasure going to Ray’s Place to dine and spending the night in one of his two rustic but quaint cabaña’s (if they aren’t full already). It is sublimely quiet there at night and all the stars in the heavens are available for viewing. If we only have Lupita the Chihuahua, we are ok to stay at La Serenidad if Ray’s is full. La Serenidad is a popular fly-in spot for pilots (with attached airstrip); and they are notorious for a pig roast on Saturday nights. Some rooms come with a fire place (it can drop down to 45F on winter nights here). On sunny days the swimming pool is a welcome relief.

This weekend we are planning to drive to Loreto for a little R&R. We are going to stay at the Inn at Loreto Bay which is both a lovely place and dog friendly besides. It will be our first stay there since the resort shut down and re-opened last year now under the auspices of the Mexican government’s tourism arm. It seems that their dog friendly policy is still in place. We can sit on the beach under a palapa with an umbrella drink and our dogs in tow, soaking up the rays. Doesn’t get much better than that!

We are also looking at dates in May and June to go to Cabo Pulmo and Todos Santos. We are just taking Little Tickle, it is a long drive for the big dog Sweet Pickle and his hips are becoming an issue getting in and out of the truck as well as his acceptance at most hotels because of his size.

I only found one hotel listed in Todos Santos on an internet dog friendly site that said would take pets; but when I went to the website the hotel said that they did not take pets—go figure! So I started shopping around to various nicer sounding hotels and B&B’s on www.tripadvisor.com, emailing places to see if they would take dogs until I found Casablanca B&B that said they liked dogs and could accommodate the three of us. Club El Moro in La Paz also permits dogs on the premises. They have decent rooms and a beautiful swimming pool with bar nearby. Ah the effort us dog lovers go to bring along our furry friends!

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My life--

Quien es?

An expatriate American wife living the slow country life in Baja and running the company guesthouse. Married to a copper mining man whom I call Esperando Esposo, means 'looking for my husband' in Spanish, the pen name I have given him for always getting lost in Home Depot. We have brought our three pets, the dog Sweet Pickle, the cat Sour Pickle, and our newest addition, a Chihuahua puppy Little Tickle, down here to live with us. We have adopted three feral Mexican cats: Frida, Carmencita, and Mrs. Moustache.

Lupita starts her own blog

Adventures with Lupita

You know this about your pets especially when they are still young--never leave them alone for too long. So what did I do? I slipped out of the room for a while and when I was out Lupita got a hold of my computer and started her own blog: adventureswithlupita.weebly.com.

P.A.W. Vet Clinic, Mulege, Baja California Sur

Help The Patrons of Animal Welfare (P.A.W.) Veterinary Clinic get up and running by December 2010. The clinic will offer spay/neuter services and vaccinations. We have the staff, we have the will and now all we need is you--and a little donation! Thanks.